No Matter What the Result
by rurouni
Summary: As long as we play with our whole hearts, we’re winners. Kogure's thoughts before the decisive game with Ryonan... A short story on winning...and losing. Hope you'll read and enjoy it! :
1. No Matter What the Result

**N****o Matter What the Result**  
~ A Short Story of Winning…and Losing ~

The ball went bouncing out of the court. One team looked on with anguish. The other rejoiced. It meant hanging on by the skin of their teeth to victory for one team. It meant a destroyed chance at a comeback for the other.

The scoreboard read 99-98.

-XXX-

The ball hit the backboard. One team looked on with anguish. The other rejoiced. It meant hanging on by the skin of their teeth to victory for one team. It meant a destroyed chance at a comeback for the other. The scoreboard read 67-66.

-XXX-

The ball was just beyond the reach of his lunge. One team looked on with anguish. The other rejoiced. It meant hanging on by the skin of their teeth to victory for one team. It meant a destroyed chance at a comeback for the other. The scoreboard read 89-88.

-XXX-

There are so many ways to "almost lose", or in a sadder fashion, "almost win". One team would leave with wide smiles on their faces. The other would shed tears.

The bespectacled boy knew this, as he took a gulp of water from his water bottle. Substitution. He was ready. Another player slapped his hand and patted his back with a sweaty palm, as he hobbled off court.

-XXX-

A key player falls. And twists his foot. One team looked on with anguish. The other secretly rejoiced. It meant hanging on by the skin of their teeth to victory for one team. It meant a destroyed chance at a comeback for the other. The scoreboard read 87-88.

-XXX-

The bespectacled boy adjusted his wristband. The whistle blew, and the game began again.

Five minutes. Might as well have been eternity. He caught the ball.

Thirty seconds. He flicked it at the basket. And it was tipping…tipping…

-XXX-

Kogure woke up with a start as his alarm rang. Today was game day. The big game against Ryonan. Kogure smiled. Despite the task ahead of him. For he knew that they were winners to have come such a long way. And they would be bigger winners still if they just held their own against Ryonan.

The fact that Ryonan had beat them by one point in the practice game was not lost on him. Three months. Seemed like eternity. And anything could have happened in eternity. And many things did. Then, the more recent game against Kainan came to mind – a heart-breaking loss for Shohoku, but they managed to shake the prefecture's traditional powerhouse.

Kogure Kiminobu looked in the mirror. As long as we play with our whole hearts, we're winners. No matter what the result. And he knew that. Because he could walk proudly off the court in that game. Because he could look back and say that they had done well. He wanted to be able to do it for their next match. And the ones after that.

-XXX-

Written in honour of the winners and "losers" in the World Cup. Especially those that came so close. So near and yet so far. But all played well, and for an exciting time, I thank you. Soccer inspiring a basketball fic? I couldn't help myself, but look at it this way: Sports do share the same principle – of sportsmanship. And that's where the grace of losing comes in.


	2. Thrashed?

**Thrashed?****  
**~ A short story about victory...and defeat ~

* * *

One-sided.

That was putting it mildly.

The game had not been their game, and the result was depressing, to say the least. The match was out of their hands, and it was all they could do to struggle to save their dignity and rescue their pride.

Help.

-xxx-

It was mind-boggling.

To put in one's best would be to thrash the opponents. To not put in one's best would be disrespectful to the opponents. There was no middle ground.

-xxx-

Takezato was trailing. Desperately. –

Shohoku was going to win. With relative ease.

The score crept up to the hundreds on Shohoku's side of the board, whereas it remained stubbornly under half that number for Takezato.

-xxx-

Crushed. Despairing. Devastated. You could see it on their faces. But one look you could not find there – resignation. They would fight to the last second, however little the chance of winning was, however far away their opponent's lead stretched.

-xxx-

Hesitant happiness. Uneasy joy. Uncertain relaxation. You could see it on the faces. The dilemma between feelings of excitement and feelings of sympathy. But something never showed on their faces – the expression of pride. Because there was nothing to be proud of.

-xxx-

The game ended 120-81 in Shohoku's favour.

Two teams walked off the court that day. One, with victory. The other, with defeat. But both could be proud. Because they had put in their best.

The victors had not detracted anything from their opponents. Who had not detracted from their dignity. Because, in sport, there is a victor. But there is never a loser. No matter what the score line. No matter what the result.

-xxx-

Author's Note: This has nothing to do with the characters and story of the first ficlet, as you would by now have realised. The only similarity is the theme. Anyway, I wrote this after watching the highlights of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, after learning that Australia's men's hockey team beat their Barbados counterparts by a score of 20-1. Hope you liked it! Review, please!

~rurouni


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